Dancing the days away

We are definitely in a routine with Calvin. He came in and greeted us the same as past days. He likes playing on the piano and today he told Tyler and I to dance while he played the piano. We did that 3 times. We also introduced him to pictures of our family members, including our dog and cat. We practiced saying their names and familiarizing him with the faces of his brothers and sisters waiting for him at home + Silas who isn’t as far away. We also showed him the Bubble Breaker game, where he pops colored bubbles on the iPad screen. He REALLY liked that and asked to play it later. We brought him another banana and gave him a few raisinets – he was excited about the chocolate. I think we are definitely bonding with Calvin and he with us. 

Some wafers with soft white chocolate fillings. Tyler eats them like crazy.

Mama lubit Dennis

We had a great visit with Calvin today. He started off acting quite silly, but calmed down once we started playing. We try to work in 5 minute intervals. Work on one thing and then switch after 5 minutes. When he starts breathing pretty heavy, we watch the DVD to calm down. We have brought him one thing to eat each visit. Today it was a banana. He wolfed it down in no time. He is a good eater, which isn’t surprising because he looks very tall and healthy – other than his heart condition. We haven’t seen his lips turn very blue this trip – perhaps that is due to his recent heart surgery? When his lips turn a little blue, we slow down our playing for him to relax. Today we introduced “Mama lubit Dennis” and “Papa lubit Dennis” to our limited vocabulary. (Mama loves Dennis, Papa loves Dennis). He repeats what we say. He is doing well with the sign language, too. He signed for “eat” all on his own. Amazing. I also started counting with him using the hand signs for up to the number 5. He did well with that and seems very eager to learn. He is becoming more accustomed to the affection that we give him. Today he was actually rubbing his Papa’s neck/hair. I attacked him with kisses and he tolerated it quite well. I have a feeling that he will transition well to ouro family. (Knock on wood). This time we prepped him before we left by each hugging him and saying Paka while looking him in the eye. He went back to the groupa just fine.

Today I started working on our family scrapbook for 2011. I am up to August of last year. It would be nice to finish it while I am here and have the time to do so. Tyler went to the grocery store and bought us a few supplies. I have observed that when I take a few days off on vacation that I feel a bit relaxed, but this trip has shown me that after a few more days I start to look at my life and see what changes that I need to make. I guess I don't relax enough during the hustle and bustle of my day-to-day life to to take a look at where I am in life. Tyler and I shared some spiritual goals that we are working on right now. He wants to watch his thoughts and to make sure that they are positive thoughts. I want to work on judging other people and to increase in charity. One day I decided I wasn't going to judge anyone and it was HARD. From the rude checkout person at the store to person who took my parking space - I realized that I wasn't thinking positive thoughts about other people. And I want to improve on that. I am grateful for all this time here in Russia if it makes me a better person when I leave.

And here are some pictures:

Playing with Papa

Getting some lovin' from Mama

2 random buildings here in Vyksa.

The cheapest pasta here is very wide with a hole down the middle. After you cook it, the noodles are seriously the size of worms with a hole. So odd, but CHEAP! And this apartment may not have a whisk, but I am super grateful for the potato peeler. We cook potatoes a lot and I am not skilled in peeling with a knife. The potatoes here look like they just came from the ground - very dirty.

Another day, another visit

Calvin came in and greeted us in the usual way of hugging his Papa and giving me a kiss on the cheek and a hug. We played with the various toys in the playroom, adding in a slide that kind of worked with Papa holding it up. Calvin was comfortable sitting on my lap and would even try to get on my lap when playing the piano. He didn’t spit today, but he stuck his tongue out at me. I asked him to come over to me and instead he just went into the tube to play. I pulled him out and looked at him in the eyes and repeated what I had said. He did not like it, but he listened to everything else I said after that. We watched some of the DVD when he needed to calm down. He certainly doesn’t act like a boy with heart problems – he is very energetic and likes to play.

There was another boy that came into the play room today. There were two caretakers working with him. I think he was 2 or 3 years old and has cerebral palsy. His name is Sasha and such a sweet little boy. They put him in an inflatable suit and worked with him on learning to walk. Calvin was excited to tell the caretakers everything that we were doing: the slide, the piano, the DVD, etc. Before we knew it, it was time to go. Once we told him we were going, he just walked right into the groupa room. We didn’t get to hug or say goodbye, but Calvin didn’t seem upset over it – so I guess he’s getting used to our coming for an hour and leaving each day. I can’t wait to pick him up and actually TAKE him home. Not to mention dress him in some nice clothes and give him a haircut! His outfit today was quite comical. You will see in the pictures.

Tyler bought me a blow dryer today! And there was much rejoicing. I spent a good chunk of time reading THE HUNGER GAMES while Tyler read the third book in the series. We had sliced bread with butter and Russian cheese for lunch. For dinner, I made pasta with a homemade cheese sauce, corn, and fried chicken chunks in it with some garlic cheese bread that we bought at the store. I am very satisfied with how well I can cook even in meager situations such as this one. With no whisk, I used a fork to make the white sauce. We boiled the noodles in bottled water (the tap is light brown in color and smells of sulfur). There is mold growing in the bathroom (I’m quite allergic) so Tyler bought some bleach and cleaned it out. I am amazed at how good Tyler is to me. I am so blessed to be his wife.

We were able to Skype with Anna today. It was lovely to hear her voice. Iryna is recovering from her sickness, but Anna is now having headaches and Keith is having trouble with his bowels (having accidents at school). Iryna is also misbehaving a lot. I know that they all miss us. I wish I could be there to help them feel comfortable. But I know I need to be here for our new children. I am honored to be able to mother so many children. Soon I will have 5 children. FIVE!

My friend, Sarah, said that she hasn't seen any pictures of all the snow - so this is for her! These pictures are taken outside of Calvin's orphanage. Those two ladies are caretakers there.

I could not believe Calvin's getup today. Some sort of plaid shirt, black short shorts, khaki tights and blue sandals. Wow. OH - and his hair had this sort of wave thing going on - not sure if that was intentional or just his hair naturally.

Sasha in this inflatable suit. I've never seen anything like it - anyone else? Does the air just support him and his muscles?

My new (and travel size!) blow dryer which cost about $12. The fabulous meal that I made for dinner. Yum.

2nd visit pictures of Calvin

The velco toys - can't think of a better name.

Calvin loved being rolled and rolling Papa in the tube.

More velcro toys

Another adoptive Dad took this picture of us three together and I snapped this awesome picture of Calvin smiling on the piano. Isn't he adorable?

This is the view outside our kitchen window. It is so peaceful. 

2nd visit with Calvin

This morning a taxi driver picked us up at 9:45am and we went to see Calvin. He was very excited to see us. He gave Papa a hug and me a kiss on the cheek/hug. He is a very sweet boy. When we came in the playroom, a woman told Calvin to tell us something – he recited a cute little poem, of sorts (we think). We wish we could have gotten it on video. He showed more of his personality today. He laughed a lot and was always on the go. We had to redirect him a couple of times when he did the opposite of what we asked him to do. He spit at us once, which we didn’t like, of course. I hope it won’t be a permanent habit. We did many activities such as play on the piano, roll a ball back and forth, and stack some blocks. We watched a little bit of Baby Einstein and some Signing Times. We brought a birthday cake for him – his birthday was two weeks ago – and thought he could enjoy it with his groupa. He was more comfortable with us holding him on our lap. It was a good visit.

Towards the end of our visit with Calvin, a Russian couple came in to meet with a sweet little girl. It is nice to see someone local wanting to adopt – I hear that it isn’t very common. The girl was very quiet and didn’t say much – complete opposite of Calvin! We brought in an outfit and coat that we brought for Calvin to wear home, in case he does get to come home this trip. He was very excited about it and was showing the clothing to some of the women in the playroom – they were taking down winter/New Year decorations. The 3T jeans fit in the waist, but he needs longer pants. I have some 4T jeans at home with adjustable waists, which should work just fine. It’s too bad I only brought 3T this trip. Oh well, a couple days of high waters won’t hurt him, right? The shirt and coat fit him really well. I am eager to see him in a shirt other than the purple turtleneck which he has worn the past 2 days…

Sveta told us to let her know what we think of the taxi driver. He was recommended to Sveta by the realtor of this apartment. One thing that I didn’t care for was that he announced on his radio that he was taking the Americans home…I’m already paranoid as it is to be staying in an apartment when we were told of how some people in Vyksa react to Americans being here. I pray daily to be protected and kept safe.

Today I cooked my first hot meal since we came to Russia one week ago: scrambled eggs and fried potatoes. It was nice to have something simple, but hot, and a meal where I knew exactly what was in it – unlike the wiener wraps we got from the grocery store last night.

Tyler has been reading THE HUNGER GAMES series. We borrowed the first book before we left and he finished it in a couple of days. Then we downloaded the other two books onto our iPad so he could continue reading. I think I will start reading the series today. Tyler said he is eager to talk with me about it. I also downloaded the TWILIGHT series so he could read that afterwards. Tyler only reads non-fiction, so this is all very new for him. I downloaded THE OBAMA’S to read.  I enjoy political books. I read one several years ago about the “real” Hillary Clinton. (I am a republican, just so you know).

Things are pretty low key here in Vyksa. I am hoping to gain some relaxation and renew myself before beginning this journey of 5 kids at home. Tyler found an ESPN tv station with college basketball. If he turns up the volume, he can barely hear the English announcers in addition to the very loud Russian ones.

We have a beautiful view outside our kitchen window. I love looking out into the trees and snow – it’s very picturesque. One thing I am lacking here in Vyksa is a blow dryer. Today I just washed it and dried it as much as possible with a towel. For someone with very thin, flat hair – a blow dryer makes a big difference. However, I suppose that I can survive without one until we go back to Nizhny Novgorod. It’s just weird letting my hair air dry…

I am missing the ability to Skype with Anna every morning. The internet connection isn’t good enough to do audio, but I think we’re going to try to type/chat with each other over Skype. I hope that will work. I miss my little kids back home. :*(

Pictures of Calvin

First visit with Calvin

This morning we packed up everything from Ibis Hotel and met Sveta outside. We had thought to visit Silas this morning, but Sveta said we should go to Vyksa to check out an apartment there – so we left for our three hour drive. I have never been carsick before in my life – but the drive to Vyksa from Nizhny Novgorod makes me super sick. I had thought that watching something on the iPad would help pass the time on the drive, but it made my stomach queasy. Not even an hour into the drive, I had to use the restroom. Sveta stopped at a nice looking restroom. I assumed there was a toilet inside. I was wrong. There was a lovely red port-a-potty outside. So Tyler walked me over to it – the ground here is very slick due to the ice/snow. We opened the door to find frozen poop on the back of the toilet seat. GROSS!!! I was able to sit far forward on the seat so I wouldn’t have to touch the poop. Guys are so lucky, aren’t they? They don’t have to sit down to pee. Anyhow – I thought about taking a picture, but figured that the experience alone won’t be forgotten soon enough.

We arrived in Vyksa and picked up a realtor who showed us the apartment. It’s very nice. The price is $60 per day which is better than the hotel. It has a bedroom, kitchen, & bathroom. Sveta took us grocery shopping so we could have food for the next week. I am ready to be able to make something to eat. Plus we have a refrigerator here. In the hotel we used our windowsill to keep all the food cold. It worked because it was 10 degrees outside! Ha ha! Oh, and Sister Foutz gave me some coconut yogurt. Wow. It's amazing! I love the variety of flavors here.

We went to the orphanage and met with the director. She is such a lovely woman. She reminds me of my mom – short, classy, and very pretty. She said that Calvin has been waiting for us to return. She said that he is a very good boy and speaking a lot.

We visited with Calvin around 4pm. It was clear that he remembered us. He greeted his Papa with a hug and gave his Mama a kiss on the cheek and a hug – neither without being prompted to do so. We had a wonderful playtime together. Calvin is speaking in Russian a lot and repeated many English words that we said, such as “monkey” and “bird”. He is much bigger than we saw him last – very tall! Calvin is intelligent – he understands how things fit together. He put together some Velcro toys and didn’t need any help doing so. He enjoyed the Baby Einstein videos and actually sat in our laps. Last time it was all that we could do to hold him for a second, but now he will sit in our laps – which is wonderful. He is still energetic, but able to calm down. When it was time for him to eat dinner, he said goodbye and cried as he went back to the groupa. It broke my heart! Clearly he didn’t want to leave and I can only imagine his worry that we won’t be back – since it took us 9 months to come back! We told him that we would be back tomorrow. I hope that will comfort him. We bought a chocolate cake to take to his groupa tomorrow – his birthday was almost 2 weeks ago and it is a fun way to celebrate with him.

We do not have WIFI anymore (sob!) but we do have a Megafone internet USB thingy which isn’t working so well. It’s hit or miss to have an internet connection, but mostly miss. I hope to be able to upload pictures, but there’s no telling for sure that it will happen. I will try to post pictures very soon. Calvin is so cute!

The world is right again*

This morning Andre picked us up for church. We went around the back side of the church building and up the stairs into the building. These stairs were THE WORST stairs I have ever encountered here in Russia. It wasn't just due to the ice and snow, but the tile underneath them was slick all by itself. I seriously thought that I was going down when climbing the stairs. Thankfully, the elder warned me about them beforehand and Tyler was also there to steady me on the way up. The joys of being in Russia in January.

Andre asked Tyler and I to share our testimony in Sacrament meeting, which we were happy to do. Elder Bressler translated for both of us. I went first and talked about how trials can lead to blessings. Infertility is the hardest trial that I have faced in my life thus far. And the trial of infertility led me to adopt Keith and Iryna and now Calvin and Silas. I would not have been blessed with these wonderful children had I not suffered with infertility. God has blessed me and I am grateful to Him. After Tyler bore his testimony, the branch president announced that there would be a special musical number by Sister Pierce. Well, this was news to me! So I grabbed my Children's Songbook and went up and accompanied myself singing "I Wonder When He Comes Again" - which is such a beautiful song. I was appreciative for the opportunity to sing and play and especially for how strongly I felt the Holy Spirit because of it.

After Sacrament meeting, we had Gospel Principles with Elder and Sister Foutz teaching us on the important of prayer. I know that I can do better in my prayers. I am grateful for the things I was taught and aim to improve in this area. I also want to increase charity in my life. I know that I can do more to become charitable. Relief Society was nice. Sister Owens translated for me. I spoke with Natasha afterwards - she is due with their second baby any day now. I told her that I would love to get together sometime while we are in Russia. I love how the members reach out to us and we feel like a part of the ward instantly. They are so kind and make us feel welcome.

After church we went home and Skyped with Anna. I guess Iryna and Danielle are both sick right now. Please pray for them to recover quickly. After skyping, Tyler & I took a nap. Then Andre picked us up to go over for dinner at the Foutz's apartment. She made chicken parmigiana (my favorite!), wild rice, homemade rolls, steamed vegetables, and homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. What a meal! They really made us feel at home. We had a great time talking and spent about 3 hours there. This is their third mission as a senior couple. I hope that Tyler and I can serve a mission, too.

Tomorrow we are planning to visit Silas in the morning and then drive up to Vyksa. I hope we can see Calvin tomorrow, but I don't know if that will be possible. If not, then we will see him on Tuesday. I am ready to see my little Calvin. It's been too long.

*Tyler lost his beanie hat twice today. And both times when he found it he said, "The world is right again". Let's hope he can keep tabs on it for the rest of the trip. I want the world to be right. :)

Day 2 and 3 with Silas

For some reason, my laptop wasn't working with the WIFI here in the hotel yesterday, but it's back on today. Hooray! Here is my report for yesterday:

January 20^th, 2012

Today we met with Silas around 10am. He was in a much better mood today. We went into a different room and he seemed more comfortable playing there. He was more comfortable with us today. He liked playing with the balls. He enjoyed watching the DVD as well. We brought a banana, but he wouldn’t eat any of it. We found out that he had already had a banana for breakfast, so maybe that is why. I held him for a little bit today and he was making more sounds, mostly babbling.

And this is today's report:

January 21, 2012

We met with Silas from 10:30am – 11:30am. He was more comfortable with us today. He started really showing his personality to us – always on the go! He loves playing with balls. He also likes the DVDs. I held him and sang him a few songs. He resisted at first, but began to enjoy it a bit more during the last couple of songs. It sounds like he is saying the word “Ball” when we play with balls. Such a smart little boy! He smiled a lot more today. 

For the court, I have to write up a small summary of each of our visits with the boys. Sveta thinks we have a good chance of the 30 days being waived - your continued prayers are appreciated! I got a few successful kisses in to Silas today - normally he is so on the go that I can't catch him fast enough! His smile is so adorable. It is much harder to snuggle him this time around - he was much more snuggly back in April/May. :(

We are still in the Ibis Hotel. It makes eating a bit tricky, as I cannot cook, but we are getting by. We have snacks and will buy milk, bread, cheese, and yogurt to snack on. I had some banana pear yogurt that was fabulous. The yogurt and milk here are so creamy and delicious. When I make protein shakes with the milk it tastes more like a milkshake. So good. Sometimes we'll grab some pizza from the grocery store - it's not as bad as it sounds. ;) We keep our food in the window between the glass and the curtains. It's quite cold here - about 10 degrees - and so everything stays nice and cold there. In fact, I ate a small piece of dark chocolate, but it was as hard as a rock! Last night we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was super pricey and tasted...okay. I had grilled veal and jasmine rice with butter, followed by a Russian style cheesecake - which of course I had to try. It was good, but tasted to me more like a custard pie. It was nice to have a hot meal, but it was over priced. In a table nearby, we heard two men with very thick (what sounded like Russian) accents speaking in English. I am guessing that one of them is not Russian, as then they would have been speaking Russian, but it was strange/comical hearing them speak in English. 

We plan to go to Vyksa next week to see Calvin. I can only imagine that he has thought we have forgotten about him. His health is good, from what we know. We're trying to figure out where we will stay in Vyksa. There is a very expensive hotel made by Putin that runs about $250 a night. Yeah. We looked into get an apartment, but the realtor told Sveta that if she rented out to Americans that a big mob would form and storm through our door, steal all our stuff, and insist that they "get the Americans OUT!" And so we are hoping to find a less expensive, but safe hotel to stay in.

Today we bought an electric pitcher so we can heat up water to eat our instant oatmeal and to drink my delectable Choffy (Oh, how I've missed it!). Each day is quite low-key. We go see Silas for an hour and then go back to the hotel. Tyler is reading The Hunger Games - he is on the second book now. I have been watching Frasier and playing Dice with Buddies, Words with Friends, and Hanging with Friends. Plus we have watched a movie and we read our scriptures together. It is quite cold, so I basically want to snuggle up under lots of blankets for most of the time. I think I am finally on the right time zone - I somehow went from FL time to halfway between Russia and FL time - wanting to go to bed around 3pm here in Russia, which is 6am in FL. Tyler finds this hilarious. But - I think I'm over it. (I hope)

Last night I went with Sister Foutz - a senior missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - to meet with some other ladies from church for an activity. We painted envelopes and paper for invitations for an upcoming church activity. Tyler went with Elder Foutz to the church for a game night with the young adults and missionaries. A member of the branch presidency asked Tyler and I if we would each bear our testimony for about 5 minutes tomorrow during church. Plus - we got a ride set up for us. This was a worry for me, as we aren't too far away from the church, however it is VERY icy and snowy and super slick outside. I have already come close to slipping twice and I don't want to fall and hurt myself. So a ride is very much appreciated!

The Foutz's invited us over for dinner tomorrow - which will be so nice. They are from UT and have been so helpful to us already. Plus it's nice to be able to speak English with someone!

And now for your viewing pleasure, more pictures of our 5th child, Silas:

Pictures!

The card reader decided to work, so here you go:

Me with my barf bag during the medical evaluations. I wasn't kidding about that... 

Silas Richard Pierce! Isn't he adorable? He's not a baby anymore... 

NOT HAPPY to be held by Daddy. :(

A little snuggle with Mama.

This is the closest we got to a smile. :)

He loved this rocking horse. Good thing we have one waiting for him at home. :)

Look at those cheeks! So cute!

Back in Nizhny Novgorod/visit with Silas

Tuesday morning we woke up early and headed to the airport. The kids and Danielle came along, too. Danielle is caring for Anna, Keith, & Iryna while we are gone. (Thanks, Danielle!) I hugged all three of my kids, but lost it when Anna began crying. She certainly has inherited my propensity for crying, poor baby.

We flew from Orlando to NY and had a 4 hour layover before catching our 11 hour flight to Moscow. The only thing we forgot at home were our many plug adapters. We bought a couple of them at JFK airport. The 11 hour flight was okay. It's hard sitting for that long. I drank water and milk, but soon found out that I was extremely dehydrated. If I would have known, I would have made a bigger effort to drink more. As it was, sleep was a bigger priority at the time.

We arrived to Moscow and I felt horrible. I was nauseated and had a headache - I was very dehydrated. Note to self - make sure I never become dehydrated again. I felt SO awful and when you feel that badly, you begin to doubt everything. Why was I in Russia? How can I handle this? When will this headache/nausea end? Augh!!!!! You get the picture, I'm sure. And so, in this state, we met up with Sveta and went to have our medicals evaluated. Imagine trying to assure a panel of doctors that you are in excellent health while you are holding up a barf bag to your mouth...thankfully, we did pass.

There was another couple there to be evaluated and 3 single women. The couple was from Germany and we enjoyed getting to know them a little bit while we waited in the lobby. The medical evaluation is meant to evaluate our health. We had to have various blood tests for HIV, Hep, syphilis, etc, plus bring x-rays of our lungs and TB - which we did previously to coming to Russia. And the x-rays had to be the actual films - which weren't the most fun thing to carry through two airports without bending them...anyhow, the doctors asked each of our about our health, surgeries, etc, all in front of the other adoptive parents. Then we went to one side of the room with a thin room divider and we took off our shirts and a female doctor listened to our breathing. Privacy wasn't exactly high on the list. Ha ha.

Then we went to the US Embassy for Tyler to check in with them since he is in the military. By this point, I knew that I was dehydrated and so I was drinking as much as possibly could. This means that I had to use the restroom and OFTEN which isn't easy to do in Russia like in the US. When we reached the US Embassy, I had to go to the restroom. Badly. I walked with Tyler to a gate - we weren't sure which one to go in - and the man didn't speak any English. Tyler showed him the form which was followed by a conversation where he spoke Russian and we spoke English = not very successful. By this time, I am doing the pee-pee dance because I had to use the restroom. I even said "туалет" several times (which means toilet) and he wouldn't let me inside. Then he gets on the phone with someone and after what felt like forever, he came out and directed us down to the corner. By this point, I literally thought I was going to pee my pants - not something I wanted to have happen. We walked to the corner and they directed us on down the next street. Now I am crying as I anticipate losing bladder control any second. We get to the right gate, go in, and I ask for the toilet. I am told to wait until someone comes to get us. A very nice man shows up and takes me to the restroom. He agreed how difficult it is to find a toilet in Russia. Bottom line: I made it to the restroom, but I seriously doubted that I would. I hope that one day this experience will be funny, but it isn't just yet.

Tyler met with the nice man for a few minutes. There was a store in the Embassy which sold American food. We bought some STILL water (we are finally learning how to tell the difference between the carbonated and still) and headed back out to Sveta and our taxi. It was 5pm at this point and we started our drive to Nizhny Novgorod. We arrived to our Ibis Hotel around 1am. I slept off and on during the drive. The adjustment to the time change seems more difficult this go-around to Russia. Plus, in addition to the dehydration, I have had diarrhea since touching down in Russia. I am 99.9% sure it is from the airplane meal. I find it funny that I would have diarrhea BEFORE even eating any Russian food. Thank goodness we packed our Immodium. That is certainly helping.

The Ibis Hotel is very nice. It is $110 per night, which includes WIFI. We came in and crashed. I woke up around 9am and then did a few things and slept again until 2:30pm. At 3:30pm, Sveta picked us up and we went to see Silas. He is so precious! He is taller now, but still quite thin. His face has grown into that little boy look instead of a toddler's. He certainly did NOT remember us from last April and was quite afraid of us, too. He would start breathing fast and kept running towards the door. I pulled out our iPad and played some Baby Einstein Dvds on it. He really liked that. I held him a little bit, but he wasn't really sure who we were and kept his distance for the majority of the time. He liked riding on the rocking horse and would look at us every so often. We got a couple of smiles out of him and tried feeding him some raisinets, but he refused them. I know it will take time for him to warm up to us - it's all part of the process.

We are hopeful about bringing him home as soon as we can. I'm not sure when it started, but he has been turning blue (in his lips) when excited and has also experienced some seizures. The orphanage director is going to write a letter to the judge asking for the 30 days to be waived, as he needs surgery for his Tetralogy of Fallot immediately. It makes me sad that he is suffering these things.

I know that you are looking for pictures, now. Some of you may have already scrolled through this post wanting to see Silas. Unfortunately, my card reader isn't working right now. Nice timing, eh? It worked before we came to Russia. Ugh. I will try to find a portable card reader soon so we can post pictures.

This evening we went to a grocery store to buy a few items. We do not have a fridge, but have been keeping items by the window to keep cold. Did I mention that it is snowing here and there is snow piled up everywhere outside? I love it! Tomorrow we are going to see Silas in the morning. I cannot wait to see him. I am so excited to be a Mama again! Tonight we are going to chat online with our kids back in FL. It will be so good to see them and Danielle tells me that they are excited to talk with us. Isn't technology amazing? All for now! Paka!

Here we go

We're leaving tomorrow. I can't believe it's here, and yet, it's about time! (Right?!?) Tyler just ran to the store for something we forgot and he will finish packing up when he returns. I am not allowed to pack the luggage. That is Tyler's job. I learned a long time ago that when I pack, Tyler will just unpack it all and do it his way. He's really good at it, so why fight it?

I have TONS of movies and tv shows to watch while in Russia. I am relieved that I won't be twiddling my thumbs during all the endless downtime there. I don't know how long it will be before I can get internet access and post updates - but stay tuned. And please pray for us to arrive safely. The winter weather will be difficult and I pray that the cars will function well for us there.

Packing

We are leaving very soon and are packing up today. My stomach is all tied up in knots as I anticipate this trip and leaving Anna, Keith, and Iryna behind. I know that they will fine. I know it, just worry for them and the sense of loss they will feel with their parents gone. I want to do something nice for them that they can open while we're gone - suggestions?

Counting down the days

We leave in a just a few days and my mind is going into overdrive getting everything ready to go. But, you know what? I'm ready. I'm ready to get over there and see my boys! It's exciting to see them again.

And here is a fabulous blogspot article for those who have adopted. MANY things ring true for me in it.

Calvin turned 5 this past week. We had a nice big feast on his birthday - I only wish he could have been here for it. :(

Apostille

Yet again, I made another trip to apostille documents for our adoption. It is a very long day driving for 12 hours to get 3 documents apostilled. I am tired...

We leave in less than a week. (!) I am excited to get things moving, but feel very heartbroken over leaving my three little ones here for an undetermined amount of time. I know that they will be very well taken care of and all that, I just know that they will miss me and I will miss them so very much.

I have been putting several movies and tv shows on our external hard drive to take with us. I am also bringing a book (BOSSYPANTS) which I took and read/laughed through during our first trip to Russia, which was almost 9 months ago. (!!) Any suggestions of other things to bring? I thought about taking a game, but not sure which. What about fun apps for games that don't require WIFI? We love angry birds. Suggestions?

February 9th

We have our court date: February 9th. I just bought our plane tickets yesterday and we leave in less than 2 weeks. SO much to do. We are planning to return the day after the court date. I don't anticipate the judge waiving the now 30 days, but we were told that even if she does waive those 30 days that it will take up to 2 weeks to get all the paperwork together for us to leave. So, for now we are praying that all will go smoothly. I would appreciate your prayers, too.

As you can imagine, with us flying to Russia not once or twice, but three times - expenses are adding up and fast. I have updated our ChipIn on the blog and would welcome any financial assistance that you can give us right now. You can also click here to donate. Since we did not have our court date in December, we will not be able to take advantage of the $30,000 tax refund this coming spring. Instead, we will get a tax credit which won't help us too much. This is another difficulty that we are facing. We had hoped to have the whole Russian adoption paid off with the tax refund. Well, God has other plans and I know that He will help us through this because He has asked us to bring Calvin & Silas home. Any help you can offer would be very welcome.

Thankfully, Danielle can still watch the kids while we are gone. We will be in Russia for 3 1/2 weeks this time, roughly. It would have been less, but because the weather is bad and the roads are difficult - we cannot visit both boys in one day. And so we need 1 1/2 weeks to visit EACH boy prior to the court date. I am happy that things are finally in motion. For now I am trying to clean house and prepare every needful thing for this trip. Your prayers are certainly appreciated!